Taking the Pulse of Distance Learning in Aotearoa New Zealand

This webinar will focus on the recent Tuia Te Hononga Tāngata, Tuia Te Hononga Ao: Taking the Pulse of Distance Learning in Aotearoa New Zealand. This report provides a comprehensive national study that examines the regulation, governance, and scope of activity of distance learning providers in New Zealand's schools sector.The findings reveal a diverse landscape of distance learning providers, categorised into two main types. The first type of provider includes schools defined under the Education and Training Act 2020, encompassing various public and private schools offering distance learning. The second type of provider, referred to as 'programmes,' includes providers not specifically referenced in the legislation and further categorised into non-profit programmes (i.e., charitable trusts) and for-profit programmes (i.e., private enterprises).

In total, the study identified 18 distance learning providers, with an estimated 36,084 to 36,283 students enrolled in one or more distance learning courses during the 2023 school year. This represents approximately 4.3% to 4.4% of New Zealand’s total school population of 831,038 students. Join Michael and Derek as they unpack the study and its implications for distance learning in the New Zealand schools sector.

Facilitators

Michael K. Barbour, PhD, is the Director of Faculty Development and a Professor of Instruction for the College of Education and Health Sciences at Touro University California. He has been involved in K-12 distance, online, and blended learning as a researcher, evaluator, teacher, course designer, and administrator for over two decades. Michael’s research has spanned the globe with a particular focus on the effective design, delivery, and support necessary for students to be successful in these flexible learning environments. His involvement in distance and virtual learning in New Zealand began in 2008, and has included presenting keynotes and other papers at Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand conferences, several national reports, and serving on the boards of multiple Virtual Learning Network programmes.

Derek Wenmoth is the founder of FutureMakers which he established after stepping back his position as Director, eLearning at Tātai Aho Rau Core Education, a not-for-profit organisation providing professional learning, research, and consultancy services across all parts of the education sector in New Zealand. Derek has been a teacher, principal, teacher educator, distance educator, and education policy writer in a career spanning more than four decades. He helped establish the Virtual Learning Network in New Zealand in the mid 1990s, was the eLearning manager at Te Kura (New Zealand’s Correspondence School) where he oversaw the transition from correspondence to online activity, and was awarded a life membership of the Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand in 2016. He has been involved in providing strategic advice on flexible and online learning to the Commonwealth of Learning and departments of education in a number of international contexts.

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